Date Formats Reference

Complete reference for date-fns format patterns used in headers and footers.

Usage

Use date formats in the {date:FORMAT} placeholder or with the date element type:

// In text content
{ "type": "text", "content": "{date:MMMM d, yyyy}" }

// With date element
{ "type": "date", "format": "MMMM d, yyyy" }

Common Formats

Format	Example Output	Use Case
yyyy-MM-dd	2025-06-14	ISO date, technical docs
MMMM d, yyyy	June 14, 2025	US formal
d MMMM yyyy	14 June 2025	UK/EU formal
MM/dd/yyyy	06/14/2025	US short
dd/MM/yyyy	14/06/2025	UK/EU short
dd.MM.yyyy	14.06.2025	German/Swiss
yyyy年MM月dd日	2025年06月14日	Japanese
EEEE, MMMM d, yyyy	Saturday, June 14, 2025	Full date
EEE, MMM d	Sat, Jun 14	Compact
MMM yyyy	Jun 2025	Month and year
Q'Q' yyyy	2Q 2025	Quarter

Format Tokens

Year

Token	Description	Example
yyyy	4-digit year	2025
yy	2-digit year	25
y	Numeric year	2025

Quarter

Token	Description	Example
Q	Quarter number	2
Qo	Quarter ordinal	2nd
QQQ	Quarter abbreviated	Q2
QQQQ	Quarter full	2nd quarter

Month

Token	Description	Example
M	Month number	6
MM	Month 2-digit	06
MMM	Month abbreviated	Jun
MMMM	Month full	June
MMMMM	Month narrow	J

Week

Token	Description	Example
w	Week of year	24
ww	Week 2-digit	24
wo	Week ordinal	24th

Day of Month

Token	Description	Example
d	Day of month	5
dd	Day 2-digit	05
do	Day ordinal	5th

Day of Week

Token	Description	Example
E	Weekday narrow	S
EE	Weekday narrow	Sa
EEE	Weekday abbreviated	Sat
EEEE	Weekday full	Saturday
EEEEE	Weekday narrow	S

Day of Year

Token	Description	Example
D	Day of year	165
DD	Day of year 2-digit	165
DDD	Day of year 3-digit	165

Hour

Token	Description	Example
H	24-hour	14
HH	24-hour 2-digit	14
h	12-hour	2
hh	12-hour 2-digit	02

Minute

Token	Description	Example
m	Minute	5
mm	Minute 2-digit	05

Second

Token	Description	Example
s	Second	9
ss	Second 2-digit	09

Fraction of Second

Token	Description	Example
S	Tenths	1
SS	Hundredths	12
SSS	Milliseconds	123

AM/PM

Token	Description	Example
a	AM/PM	PM
aa	AM/PM	PM
aaa	am/pm	pm
aaaa	a.m./p.m.	p.m.

Timezone

Token	Description	Example
z	Timezone abbreviated	EST
zzzz	Timezone full	Eastern Standard Time
Z	Timezone offset	-0500
ZZ	Timezone offset	-05:00
ZZZZZ	Timezone offset	-05:00:00

Regional Examples

United States

// Standard US date
{ "type": "date", "format": "MM/dd/yyyy" }
// → 06/14/2025

// Formal US
{ "type": "date", "format": "MMMM d, yyyy" }
// → June 14, 2025

// Full with day
{ "type": "date", "format": "EEEE, MMMM d, yyyy" }
// → Saturday, June 14, 2025

United Kingdom / Europe

// UK short
{ "type": "date", "format": "dd/MM/yyyy" }
// → 14/06/2025

// UK formal
{ "type": "date", "format": "d MMMM yyyy" }
// → 14 June 2025

// European with dots
{ "type": "date", "format": "dd.MM.yyyy" }
// → 14.06.2025

ISO Standard

// ISO date
{ "type": "date", "format": "yyyy-MM-dd" }
// → 2025-06-14

// ISO datetime
{ "type": "date", "format": "yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss" }
// → 2025-06-14 14:30:00

// ISO with timezone
{ "type": "date", "format": "yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ssZZZZZ" }
// → 2025-06-14T14:30:00-05:00

Time Formats

24-Hour

{ "type": "date", "format": "HH:mm" }
// → 14:30

{ "type": "date", "format": "HH:mm:ss" }
// → 14:30:45

12-Hour

{ "type": "date", "format": "h:mm a" }
// → 2:30 PM

{ "type": "date", "format": "hh:mm:ss a" }
// → 02:30:45 PM

Combined Date & Time

// Standard datetime
{ "type": "date", "format": "MMMM d, yyyy 'at' h:mm a" }
// → June 14, 2025 at 2:30 PM

// Compact datetime
{ "type": "date", "format": "MM/dd/yy HH:mm" }
// → 06/14/25 14:30

// Full datetime
{ "type": "date", "format": "EEEE, MMMM d, yyyy h:mm a" }
// → Saturday, June 14, 2025 2:30 PM

Escaping Text

Use single quotes to include literal text:

// Include literal text
{ "type": "date", "format": "'Generated on' MMMM d, yyyy" }
// → Generated on June 14, 2025

// Quarter notation
{ "type": "date", "format": "'Q'Q yyyy" }
// → Q2 2025

// Time with literal "at"
{ "type": "date", "format": "MMM d 'at' h:mm a" }
// → Jun 14 at 2:30 PM

Default Format

If no format is specified, the default is yyyy-MM-dd:

// These are equivalent:
{ "type": "date" }
{ "type": "date", "format": "yyyy-MM-dd" }
// → 2025-06-14

In Text Placeholders

{
  "type": "text",
  "content": "Report generated {date:MMMM d, yyyy} at {date:h:mm a}"
}
// → Report generated June 14, 2025 at 2:30 PM

Front Matter Example

---
title: Monthly Report
pdf:
  header:
    right:
      type: date
      format: MMMM yyyy
      font_size: 10px
  footer:
    left_text: "Generated: {date:yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm}"
    center_text: "Page {page} of {pages}"
---

See Also

• Date Formatting Guide
• Placeholders Reference
• Element Types Reference
• date-fns Documentation